Tree-digger.



J. PARKER TREE DIGGE'R.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. 27. 1914.

1,182,032, I Patented May 9,1916.

2 SHEETS SHEET I.

Q I I $1 fl [I F I x y Q Q? Witnesses Attorneys J. PARKER.

} TREE DIGGER.

APPLICATION HLED 0CT.27, 1914.

1,182,032 Patented May 9,1916.

lnven or G Attorneys EUbTiTED smarts earner; option.

JIM PARKER, OF TECUMSEH, OKLAHOMA.

TREE-DIGGER.

Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented May 9, 1916.

Application filed October 27, 1914. Serial No. 868,868.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J 131 PARKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tecumseh,

in the county of Pottawatomie and State of Oklahoma, have invented a new and useful Tree-Digger, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention appertains to dlggers and aims to provide a novel and improved apparatus for digging young or nursery trees or the like.

ThlS inventlon comprehends the provision of a riding or wheel mounted digging apparatus of unique construction, embodylng a novel shovel or: digging blade and peculiar and effective means for depressing and elevatmg the same.

I With the foregoing and other objects in VlBW WhlCll wlll appear as the descrlptlon nat on and arrangement of parts and in the proceeds, the invention resides in the combidetails of constructionhereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the 'precise embodiment of the inventionherein disclosed can be madewithin the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention has been illustrated in its preferred, embodiment in the accompanying drawings, where1n:.-

' Figure 1 is a planvlew of the improved digger, parts being broken away. Fig. .2 is a longitudinal section of the structure. Fig.

3 is a perspective View of the shovel or digging blade andits beams; I I h In carrying out'thepresent'invention, there is provided a'sulky or vwheel mounted frame or body 1, which includes the upper rectangular section 2 and the side sections 8 attached thereto, and including the front and rear upright portions 41- and ,5, respectively, and

the longitudinalbars or omemberso connecting the lower ends of theportions 4 and 5. The frame l is thus of inverted U-shape or is archedtransversely.

A longitudinal tongue or pole? is bolted or otherwise secured upon the ends ofthe top section 2 of the frame 1 intermediate the 2 side. sections 3 of the frame andfan'a-rched axle 8. has its upright p'ortionssecured within theside sections 3 of the frame 1, while the intermediatefor crest portion of the axle 8 projects I upwardly through the top sec tion 2 and passes over the tongue or pole 7.

The intermediate'or crestporti'on of the I axle 8 scoured upon the tongue or pole 7,

while'the spindles of the axle project outwardly, below the lower bars or members 6 of the side sections 3, and have the ground wheels 9 journaled thereon at the sides of the frame 1. The axle 8 is disposed intermediate the ends of the frame 1 to balance the machine.

lowermost or yoke portion of the blade. The shovel or digging blade 10 is carried by a pair of forwardly projecting and diverging beams 12 which have their rear ends securely riveted or otherwise attached to the upper ends of the shovel 10, while the forwardends of the beams 12 are loosely connected tothe lower protruding ends of the standards or uprights e of the frame 1, by means of short chains or links 18. beams 12 are arranged at; obtuse angles with the upper'ends of the shovel 10, as clearly seen in Fig. 2 whereby the intermediate or lower portionof theshovelwill be arranged at an'acute angle with respect to the beams 12. The beams 12 lie below the frame 1 and the axle 8,' whereby the shovel will be carried below the rear portion of the frame,

, the beams 12 and the shovel 1O trailing from the forward end portion of the frame; as Wlll beappar'ent;

The intermediate or central portion of shovel .10 carries an elevator or deflector 14: which is bent or formed from a strip or "elongated plate 15,"the strip or plate 15 beso The mg inclined "and having its lower or forportion or the shovel 10,"whereby the body intermediate portion of the shovel. The rear fend'of the portion 16 is bent upwardly and riveted to the body portion of the stripi'or plate 15, as indicated at 17, so asto brace the elevator or deflector structure.

As a means for elevating the shovel '10, and for limiting the downward movement thereof, there isprovided a transverse shaft 18 terminally journaled t0 the sides of the top section 2 of the frame adjacent the-rear ward portion bent baclras at 16, and riveted 7 or otherwise secured upon the intermediate of the strip or plate 15 is inclined from'the end of the frame and chains or other fiexi ble elements 19 are attached to the points of juncture of the beams 12 and the shovel 10 vand are secured to the shaft 18 to he wound thereon. A suitable hand lever 20 is fulcrumed loosely upon the shaft 18 adjacent the right hand side of the frame 1,

. adjustably secured to the said beams adjacent their rear ends or the shovel 10, and a pair of thrust rods 21 have their lower ends pivoted between the ends of the re spective clips 23 and have chains or flexible elements 25 detachably connected to their upper ends. The lower ends of the chains 25 are secured to and adapted to be wound upon a transverse winding shaft 26 terminally journaled to the sides of the top sections 2 of the frame immediately in advance of the shaft 18. The thrust rods 24 pro ject above and are adapted to rest rear-.

wardly against the shaft 26, in order that when the chains 25 are wound upon the "shaft 26, the thrust rods 2 1 will be forcibly depressed to swing the beams 12 downwardly. vThe shaft 26 may be conveniently rotated through the medium of a suitable hand lever 27 loosely fulcrumed upon the shaft 26 adjacent the left hand side of the frame 1, and carrying a spring-pressed pawl or dog 27 a engageable with the ratchet wheel 28 secured upon the shaft 26. A pawl or dog 29 is carried by the left hand side of the frame 1 for engaging the ratchet wheel 28 to prevent the reverse rotation of the shaft 26 under, normal conditions.

The operators seat 30 is carried by the rear end of the frame 1 and lies between the right and left hand levers 20 and 27 whichmay be readily manipulated by the operator, and which aflord considerable purchase in rotating the shafts 18 and 26,

respectively.

The machine is adapted to be drawn over' the ground by a plurality of horses, mules on other draft animals, and to this end, a peculiar draft equalizer is provided for a team of four draft animals walking abreast. The draft equalizer includes a forward transverse evener bar or lever 31 fulcrumed intermediate its ends to the tongue 7 adjacent the forward end of' the frame 1, and a rear transverse evener bar or lever 32is fulcrumed intermediate its ends to the rear end of the tongue 7 adjacent the rear end of the frame 1, the arms of the evener bars or levers 32 being connected at the sides of the frame 1 by means of links 33 to constrain the evener bars or levers to swing simultaneously. V a

A pair of yokes 3% have their intermediate or crest portions fulcrumed to the ends of the forward evener bar or lever 31 and looped levers 35 are pivoted to the lower ends of the arches or yokes 3 1. A pair of levers 36 are fulcrumed or loosely connected intermediate their ends to the ends of the rear evener bar or lever 32, and the arms of the levers 36 at the opposite sides of the machine are connected to the rear ends of the two pairs of levers 35, by means of draft rods or links 37. Upright levers 38 are fulcrumed intermediate their ends to the forward ends of the levers 35, and a pair of upper and lower swingletrees 39 are loosely connected to each of the levers 38 for the connection of the traces or tugs. A suitable neck yoke 40 is attached to the forward or free end of the tongue 7.

The swingletr'ees 39 of each set being con nected to the opposite ends of the arch or yoke 34: cause the draft to be equalizedor distributed evenly between thedraft animals'of the respective pairs, it being 0b-' served that the forward flexing of the yokes or arches is resisted by the rearwa-rdly in clined draft rods 37 which are connected to the lower ends of thearches or yokes 3'1? and whlch have then rear or upper ends connected to the levers 36. Thus, the arches or yokes 3 1 and the levers 36 will oscillate simultaneously at the opposite sides of the machine, the evener bars or levers 31 and 32 in oscillating, will properly distribute the draft between the two sets of draft animals at the opposite sides of the tongue 7. The draft equalizer thus enables the four draft animals to properly draw the ma-. chine over the ground, and the draft will be uniformly distributed to the several draft animals, as is desirable.

In operation, when the machine is being drawn over the soil and the frame 1 running astride a row of young trees, the shovel or digging blade 10 may be forcibly depressed into the soil to loosen the trees or plants and lift them up by their roots. To depress the shovel, the thrust rods2 1 are.

pressed downwardly and the upper or free" ends of the chains 25 are engaged to the upper ends of therods 24, in which event the winding shaft 26 is rotated in the proper di-. rection by oscillating the hand lever 27, so.

, as to wind the chains 25 upon the shaft 26 to forcibly depress the beams 12 and to hold the said beams in a lowered position. The

inclination of the intermediate portion of the shovel with respect to the beams 12, will...

give the shovel a natural tendency to work its way into the soil below the surface thereof, so that the shovel may be conveniently depressed, especially due to the fact'that the hand lever 27 being operatively connected to the shaft 26 through the pawl and ratchet device, will afford a considerable purchase for depressing the beams 12. The forward edge of the shovel being sharpened, will enable the shovel to cut its way through the soil in a convenient and ready manner, the point or nose ll of the shovel projecting foremost and greatly facilitating the advance of the shovel in the soil under the plants or trees. The intermediate portion of the shovel will out under the plants, While the sides or arms of the shovel will loosen or sever the soil at the sides of the row of plants being dug. The elevator or deflector 14: which is inclined upwardly from the intermediate portion of the shovel will raise the plants to the surface of the soil, in order that the plants may be raised bodily by the roots onto the surface of the soil from which they may be readily gathered. To raise the shovel out of the soil, as when the machine is running idle, or when the machine is turned around at the ends of the rows, the pawl or dog 29 which holds the shaft 26 against reversed rotation, is released from thexratchet wheel 28, and the hand lever is then oscillatedto wind the chains 19 upon the winding shaft 18, which will raise the rear ends of the beams 12 to elevate the shovel blade above the surface .of the soil. The pawl or dog 22 engaging the ratchet wheel 21 of the shaft 18 will hold the shaft 18 against retrograde movement, to prevent the chains 19 from unwinding, until the pawl or dog 22 is released for enabling the shovel to be depressed by the actuating hand lever 27 as above intimated.

With the present apparatus, it is an easy matter for the operator to depress and e1evate the shovel, as desired, and in this manner, the labor of digging the trees or other plants is reduced to a minimum. The other advantages and capabilities of the present device will be obvious to those skilled in the art, without further comment being necessary.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is In a device of the character described, a riding frame, a pair of beams loosely connected thereto, a U-shaped shovel terminally secured to the said beams, and a deflector copies 0! this patent may be obtained for 'five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. c." 

